Sometimes, members of the public have the right to object to an application for an alcohol licence.
Objection period
Objections must be filed with the District Licensing Committee (DLC) within 25 working days after the first public notice about the application appears in the Otago Daily Times and on our website.
For the purposes of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (link to external website, new window) (the ‘Act’) a working day means a day of the week other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the Sovereign’s birthday, Matariki, and Labour Day (and if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday) and any day between and inclusive of 20 December and 15 January the following year.
Anyone can object to an application for a licence, licence renewal, or variation of licence conditions, with some exceptions for trade competitors and their surrogates. A trade competitor is a person who holds a licence to sell alcohol, even if they do actually sell alcohol. They may only object to an application if they are directly affected by the application in a way that does not relate to trade competition, or the effects of trade competition.
- Objection to applications section 102 (link to external website, new window).
- Objection to renewals section 128 (link to external website, new window).
What can you object to?
The matters that can be objected to are prescribed in section 105 (link to external website, new window) of the Act and include:
For all licence applications
- The suitability of the applicant to hold an alcohol licence.
- The Dunedin Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) (if relevant).
- The days and hours on which alcohol will be sold.
- Design and layout of the premises.
- Whether the applicant is or will be engaged in the sale or supply of goods or services other than the sale of alcohol, low-alcohol refreshments, non-alcoholic refreshments and food.
- The systems, staff and training to comply with the law.
However, if the application is for an existing premises, and the licence type and conditions are to remain the same, an objection can only relate to the suitability of the applicant.
For new licence applications only
- Whether the amenity and good order of the locality would likely be reduced (to more than a minor extent) by the effects of the issue of the licence.
- Whether the amenity and good order of the locality is already so badly affected by the existing licences in the area that it would be undesirable to issue any further licences.
For the purposes of the Act, ‘amenity and good order’ includes the consideration of noise, nuisance, vandalism, nearby sensitive sites/facilities and the density of licensed premises in the area.
For licence renewal applications only
- Whether the amenity and good order of the locality would likely be increased by more than a minor extent by the effects of not renewing the licence.
How do you object?
Objections must be filed with the DLC within 25 working days after the first public notice about the application appears in the Otago Daily Times and on our website.
Objections can be lodged:
| Online | Using the online form |
| dla@dcc.govt.nz | |
| Post | Alcohol Licensing, Dunedin City Council, PO Box 5045, Dunedin 9054 |
| In person | Drop your written objection in to Customer Services on the Ground Floor, Civic Centre, 50 The Octagon, Dunedin |
What happens next?
When your objection has been received we will:
- send you an acknowledgement of the objection
- send a copy of the objection to the applicant
- submit the objection to the DLC for their consideration.
If the DLC believes the objection meets the criteria for a valid objection, a hearing will be scheduled and everyone (the ‘parties’) will be notified.
It is important that you state whether or not you wish to be heard at any hearing in support of your objection. While you are not required to attend the hearing, it is expected that you will appear to speak in support of your opposition. If you do not attend, the DLC will not be able to seek clarification/ask questions and will therefore be limited as to the weight it can give your objection.
A guide to the objection process is available from alcohol.org.nz website. (link to external website, new window)
If you would like any more information about objecting to an alcohol licence application, contact the Alcohol Licensing team by email at dla@dcc.govt.nz.